MACON-BIBB COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

682 CHERRY ST., SUITE 1000, MACON, GEORGIA 31201

MATS CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING – MINUTES SUMMARY

Meeting Description:
MATS Citizens Advisory Committee – Regular Meeting

Date:
10.26.16        Time:
6:00PM     Location:
Macon-Bibb County P & Z Commission, 10^th Floor Conference Room

MINUTES

• Called to Order:
  6:10PM by Mary Lou Ezell, Vice-Chair, CAC
  

• Adoption of Agenda – Action Item:
  Accepted as presented, realizing that no action could take place on action items due to the lack of a quorum. However, after the public comment period concluded, a quorum was established to officially adopt the agenda. Additionally, the committee officially approved the appointment of Mr. Donald L. Druitt.
  
  
  

• Public Comment Period (5 Minutes):
  Lee Martin and Lindsay Holliday shared a handout pertaining to Smart Growth America Complete Streets and information pertaining to traffic congestion / level of service. Lee Martin encouraged members of the committee to take photos of dangerous bus stops and streets around the MATS area. Photos could be sent to: photos@completestreets.org. Lindsay and Lee also spoke briefly about the parking study in downtown Macon and encouraged the CAC to get involved. Lindsay also shared his thoughts on airports in the MATS and Middle Georgia area. The UDA should not oversee parking in downtown as expressed by Lee Martin.
  
  
  

• Approval of previous MATS CAC Minutes (July 13, 2016) – Action Item:
  A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the minutes as presented. Approved
  

• 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan Update: Review and adoption of current LRTP and TIP Amendments – Action Item:
  Mike Greenwald mentioned that the amendments are a list of projects that GDOT wants Macon MPO to incorporate into the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) documents for FY 2014 – 2017. The LRTP is the 25 year list of transportation projects the MPO is planning to undertake and the TIP is a subset of activities of individual projects from the LRTP list that the MPO is planning to undertake within a 3 – 4 year period. Projects included are:
  
  • Bridge Replacement Projects
    • Replace bridge on I-475 @ CR 742/Tucker Road 2 miles west of Macon
    • Bridge replacement project at I-75 @ SR 87/US 23 in Macon
    • Replacement of bridges on I-16 Eastbound and Westbound at Walnut Creek, 1 mile east of Macon
  • I-16 / I-75 Projects
    • Phase 1: I-16 from I-75 to SR 87. Includes SR 87 Interchange
    • Phase 2: I-75 NB from SR 19 to I-16 Interchange
    • Phase 3: I-75 SB from SR 19 to I-16 Interchange

  For clarification, Jim Thomas mentioned that these are amendments to the current LRTP and TIP. A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the LRTP and TIP amendments as presented. Approved.
  

• 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan Update: Review and adoption of draft prioritized project list – Action Item:
  Mike Greenwald reported that the LRTP is a 25 year list of projects identified by local and state officials. The provided list is a revised list as a result of input received from previous MATS meetings and public outreach efforts that occurred between June – August 2016. Mike also presented the revised MATS 2040 LRTP Revenue Estimates. Based on the revisions, it is indicated that the plan is fiscally balanced with a capital surplus of $22,829,076.54. The “working draft” LRTP project update was also presented that showed project prioritization. Projects highlighted in green are new projects that GDOT identified to go into the MATS region and be incorporated into the LRTP. These projects are associated with the southern portion of I-75. The Central Georgia Rail Trail project can be considered to be added into the LRTP as suggested by the Middle Georgia Regional Commission. After considerable discussion, a motion was made and properly seconded to report to the MATS Policy Committee a recommendation to move priority #14 (Seventh Street Truck Route Project) higher on the priority list to priority #10.
  

• Review and adoption of draft UPWP (Unified Planning Work Program) FY 18 – Action Item:
  Ken North provided a summary of the work tasks in the FY 18 UPWP. The UPWP report contains the planning tasks for each upcoming Fiscal Year beginning July 1. Ken provided updated information on the following tasks:
  
  • FHWA 1.30:
    Training/Professional Development – The funding increased
    
  • FHWA 3.20:
    Transportation Systems / Land Use Monitoring – The funding increased. 80% of this task is funded by FHWA and the remainder is funded by local sources.
    
  • FHWA 4.11:
    Long Range Transportation Update – The funding decreased by over 40%
    
  • FHWA 4.13:
    Special Streets / Highways / Land Use Studies – The funding increased
    
  • FTA 4.14:
    Special Transit / Multimodal Studies and Projects – The funding increased. 80% of this task is funded by Federal sources, 10% funded by State sources and 10% funded by Local sources.
    

  Jim mentioned that overall, the planning budget will be $20,000 less than previous years. A motion was made and properly seconded to approve the draft UPWP as presented. Approved.
  

• Old/Unfinished Business:
  
  • Update of Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Vacant Positions: Gregory L. Brown provided an update of the current CAC membership. Donald Druitt was approved for Commission District 6; Andrew Silver was approved for Commission District 8; Lynn Farmer, Commission District 1 submitted a letter of resignation. A motion was made and properly seconded to accept the resignation of Lynn Farmer, District 1. Approved. A separate motion was made and properly seconded to approve the appointments of Donald Druitt, District 6 and Andrew Silver, District 8. Approved.
    
  • Update of Notification of FHWA / FTA Proposed Rulemaking: Consolidation of MPO’s (Metropolitan Planning Organizations):
    Mike Greenwald reported that the public comment period closed on August 26, 2016 and the USDOT is reviewing additional comments from other MPO’s throughout the country. MATS MPO was able to submit comments along with the CAC’s objection to the proposed rule. Warner Robins MPO was not able to review and discuss the letter in time to vote on the statements. If the rule goes through, a 2 year timeframe will be in effect for MPO’s to consolidate or solicit the governor’s office to write a letter as to why MPO’s should remain separate. In Georgia the MPO’s that will be affected are:
    
    • Macon / Warner Robins
      
    • Rome / Cartersville
      
    • Gainesville / Hall
      
  • Smart Growth America:
    Lee Martin encouraged the CAC to study the complete streets policies. Jim mentioned that the Forest Hill Road concept, (reduced from 5 lanes to 3 lanes), was redone to include sidewalks, etc., whereas Lee Martin feels that adding sidewalks does not satisfy the complete streets model. In terms of safety, there were discussion regarding re-striping of roadways on the project list, in particularly, #1, #3 and #18. It was mentioned that LARP or LMIG (Local Maintenance Improvement Grant) funds could possibly be used to improve roadway striping. The pedestrian fatality review board should also be made aware as well as contacting the local Commission District representative and/or the Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, Commissioner Scotty Shepherd.
    
  • Citizen Transportation Planning 101 Orientation: Gregory L. Brown mentioned that an orientation would take place when all positions on the MATS CAC are filled. This orientation would be scheduled outside of regular CAC meeting dates. No action was taken on this agenda item.
    

• New Business:
  
  • Update of Non-Conformity Status:
    Mike Greenwald reported that as of Monday, October 24, 2016, the 1997 annual PM2.5 national ambient air quality standard has been revoked for the Macon PM2.5 maintenance area.  Therefore, there is no longer a requirement to demonstrate transportation conformity for the annual PM2.5 standard (this includes PM2.5 hot-spot screening/determinations). No action was taken on this agenda item.
    
  • Macon – Bibb Countywide Bicycle Network: Mike Greenwald mentioned that Mayor Reichert wants to develop a fully integrated bicycle network for the entire county. A bicycle – pedestrian committee will be formed. Demonstration maps are available for review.
    

• Project Status Report – Agenda Item:
  Gregory L. Brown distributed the GDOT project status report as submitted by GDOT to meeting attendees for information. Members wanted to know what is meant by “At Risk”? “At risk” means that the project let date is tentative.
  

• Next meeting dates:
  The next meeting of the CAC is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 6:00PM as a regular meeting.
  
  

• Announcements:
  
  • There were no announcements.
    

• Adjourn:
  The meeting was adjourned at 8:15PM